Apply parsimony to your own communication

Use the fewest words and concepts that carry the full meaning — not as brevity, but as clarity.

Why it works

Communication complexity imposes cognitive load on the listener, which reduces accurate reception and increases misinterpretation. Cutting unnecessary qualifications, jargon, and nested structure reduces the gap between what you intend and what lands — the same principle applied to transmitting ideas rather than evaluating explanations.

How to do it

1. After drafting a message, ask: which sentence is doing the most work? Can the others be cut?
2. Remove modifiers that do not change the meaning (very, extremely, basically, essentially).
3. Replace jargon with a plain term unless the jargon carries a precision the plain term cannot.
4. Test by reading aloud: anything that makes you stumble is probably unnecessary.

Evidence

Cognitive load research shows that processing difficulty reduces comprehension and recall. Reducing extraneous complexity in communication is a practical implication of cognitive load theory, which is well supported. (observational)

Brevity can sacrifice necessary nuance; the goal is removing what is not needed, not compressing past the information the message actually requires.

Sources

• Sweller (1988), cognitive load theory, Cognitive Science

Common mistake

Confusing length with thoroughness — adding caveats and qualifications that communicate anxiety rather than precision.